I am not a minimalist. I will also never become one. Why? Because I love decorating my house.
While our four walls look pretty clean during spring and summer, I have an urge for decorating them in fall and winter. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that when it gets colder outside, we are looking for shelter inside our homes and decorating helps me create a sheltered and cozy atmosphere. I normally start browsing the web - and pinterest in particular - in august. Looking for simple, yet beautiful ways to make the house match the season. Want to see what I define as simple yet beautiful? Visit me on pinterest!
I do not own many decorative items and I am definitely not one cluttering up the whole condo, but the few things I have assembled over the year present me with a problem. They wander all over my closets. No, really. These things, and I am sure you experienced it as well, have a mind of their own. No matter how much I tried to contain them, they managed to spread out through my entire cabinet. Here is proof. I used two carton boxes for my decorations but they are also all over the place around these boxes:
I also keep some kitchen items in this cabinet which I do not use frequently like these beautiful coffee pot and espresso set. They mingled happily with our waterproof sprays.
This situation was intolerable. I could not get to the decor easily which is why I started just throwing stuff into the cabinet and I also ruined some things by not stowing them away properly. Things had to change.
For now, I made two changes to my decor storage system. You can see them here:
Yes, 3 see through plastic bin and ziploc bags. Total coast: less than 10 euros. Here is how I changed my decor storage. It works a treat. I know exactly where everything is, everything is stowed away safely and I also know my limits when it comes to purchasing new stuff by just following two simple rules. Here is how it works.
1) Store decorative items by season. I have three containers, one for spring/summer, one for fall and one for winter. They contain all the little bits and pieces I decorate the house with. On top of the containers I will then store bigger items like seasonal tablecloths. I also have the little plastic container assigned for lights because I can use them year-round. Inside the container, each item gets its own ziploc bag. This way, nothing can spill or leak and ruin other items. Also, there is no more tangling.
2) Now that everything has its place, this sets a limit to the amount of things you can acquire. I have one plastic container per season and once it is filled, this is it. I either cannot purchase anything new or I would have to throw something out in order to make room for the new item. The containers are my limit, they are big enough to contain a sufficient amount of things to satisfy my decorative hunger and they are small enough so the condo will not look like someone puked fall all over it.
During reorganizing, I got rid of probably a third of my decorative stuff, mostly things that were broken or dirty beyond fixing. I also got rid of some tablecloths I had not used for more than a year or that did not find the style of our apartment anymore. Now everything fits the cabinet easily. I am very happy with how it all turned out and encourage you to try the same approach when it comes to storing your decor.
While our four walls look pretty clean during spring and summer, I have an urge for decorating them in fall and winter. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that when it gets colder outside, we are looking for shelter inside our homes and decorating helps me create a sheltered and cozy atmosphere. I normally start browsing the web - and pinterest in particular - in august. Looking for simple, yet beautiful ways to make the house match the season. Want to see what I define as simple yet beautiful? Visit me on pinterest!
I do not own many decorative items and I am definitely not one cluttering up the whole condo, but the few things I have assembled over the year present me with a problem. They wander all over my closets. No, really. These things, and I am sure you experienced it as well, have a mind of their own. No matter how much I tried to contain them, they managed to spread out through my entire cabinet. Here is proof. I used two carton boxes for my decorations but they are also all over the place around these boxes:
This situation was intolerable. I could not get to the decor easily which is why I started just throwing stuff into the cabinet and I also ruined some things by not stowing them away properly. Things had to change.
For now, I made two changes to my decor storage system. You can see them here:
1) Store decorative items by season. I have three containers, one for spring/summer, one for fall and one for winter. They contain all the little bits and pieces I decorate the house with. On top of the containers I will then store bigger items like seasonal tablecloths. I also have the little plastic container assigned for lights because I can use them year-round. Inside the container, each item gets its own ziploc bag. This way, nothing can spill or leak and ruin other items. Also, there is no more tangling.
2) Now that everything has its place, this sets a limit to the amount of things you can acquire. I have one plastic container per season and once it is filled, this is it. I either cannot purchase anything new or I would have to throw something out in order to make room for the new item. The containers are my limit, they are big enough to contain a sufficient amount of things to satisfy my decorative hunger and they are small enough so the condo will not look like someone puked fall all over it.
During reorganizing, I got rid of probably a third of my decorative stuff, mostly things that were broken or dirty beyond fixing. I also got rid of some tablecloths I had not used for more than a year or that did not find the style of our apartment anymore. Now everything fits the cabinet easily. I am very happy with how it all turned out and encourage you to try the same approach when it comes to storing your decor.
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